Curious Lola

Make Your Own Crown with Worbla

Hey beehive! As a creator of flowery, arty things, I often find myself stumbling upon new materials to work with.

Worbla just so happens to be one of those things that I saw and *could not* not buy. One thing I love about using different materials is that it constantly pushes the boundaries of what I think I am capable of and inspires the Queen Bee in me to be proud of the things I am able to make.

Both the flower crown here and the collar are made with a worbla base and covered in leaves and flowers. Raise your hand if you love leaves as scales. (I feel the wind of a thousand hands:)

Worbla is fantastic for many reasons, mainly:

Its non-toxic

You don’t have to be a super skilled crafts(wo)man to work with it. If you’ve ever dried your hair or stuck a sticker on something (not necessarily in that order) then you are good:)

The only tool needed is a heat gun

Scraps/mess-ups can be heated, molded back together and then used again!

For this styled shoot, we used this material to construct her crown and flared collar. We figured that this Queen Bee was going to be a force to be reckoned with so she had to bring something to the table that your average gardeny flower crown-wearing bohemian bee might not. I mean, the world can use a different flower crown. mmmmmm-iright?

Now that you’re feeling like you’re ready to push your flower crown boundaries, buzz on over to our Youtube Channelby clicking on the picture below and make your own with us!

Want to be a part of our busy bee circle? We are working up some sweet things for you! Add your e-mail below and gain access to my hour long floral demonstration where I explain the complete breakdown of centerpiece arrangements- all foam free. Oh, and you’ll also get updates on new DIY projects! Pretty sweet.

Queen Bee

Every now and then, I pull together a project just because it sounds like a good idea (among other totally practical and business boss-like reasons (cough)). Only later can I actually put my finger on why it is so special to me.

This feature, is one of those. Introducing our Queen Bee wedding photo shoot about a regal, singular, badass bee siting atop her throne of flowers.

It’s all part of our new DIY series that starts with an inspiration shoot, and continues with a series of how-to videos about various creations featured in the shoot. For this shoot, we will be showing you how to make:

A modern pollen bouquet (okay they’re billy balls)

An impressive (and eco-conscious) flower wall throne- yes, it’s a wall, not really an actual throne. See how awesome that is?!

And a pollen crown….. because well, we can all use a new type of flower crown. And it’s a good thing because this queen bee bride eats bohemian vibes for second breakfast. She just pierces them on the end of her sharp little nail….. Doesn’t even blink… just gobbled on up.

We’ll add the links as they get finished up! But if you sign up to our newsletter, you get the videos in advance- plus bonus info about blunders and triumphs related to business, flower recipes, and more.

But for now, a story about bees.

If you didn’t already know, my parents owned a lavender farm. On that farm was rows of lavender, and among those rows were bee hives tended by a local beekeeper. Now, bees love flowers, but they especially love lavender and all purple flowers for that matter. Their visual spectrum of light is such that they can see ultraviolet light beyond the violet that we can see. It’s this type of light they are most drawn too. The point is, during peak flowering season, the fields are awash with bees partying on their favorite food. Literally hundreds of bees thumping drunkenly into your head, and crawling all over every bush. Harvesting one bunch of lavender can yield 15 bees in your hand.

The bees are so drunk on pollen that you can simply brush them off. They will lazily plop off and zoom over to another bush. In years of helping with lavender harvest, I’ve never been stung by these bees. Not once.

I loved that a being so feared in childhood could be so docile when given what it wants.

What’s more amazing, however, is the sheer level of noise they can produce. Sitting between rows of lavender at peak season will bring you to a secret world where all sound is lost but buzz and the only thing that is important is the work of the bees. Feed the queen, feed the family, take care of each other, everybody do their part- that is the work of bees.

This is also where I first heard of colony collapse disorder from our beekeeper who was losing half his queens.

In colony collapse, for a number of reasons about which researchers can’t seem to agree, the worker daughters leave the hive and disappear, leaving the community to starve. There’s been a lot of research since my initial introduction to colony collapse but the beekeeper was convinced it was because of selective bee breeding.

Honeybees had been bred to be good workers and docile. When all the bees (or anything for that matter) have a similar genetic makeup, they are susceptible to the same infections and diseases. Yet another reason to celebrate diversity.

At the time, our beekeeper was seeking out new queens from far off places that were feistier, fiercer, and hopefully with that, better at fighting off disease.

This shoot is dedicated to those fiesty queens keeping their family together:)

Oh! Thanks for reading all the way through. Here are our friendors who were crucial to this shoot!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Mexico taught me this…

The central highlands of Mexico are some of my favorite places to be on Earth. (I haven’t been to ALL the places on Earth, but I’m pretty sure it would still be on top). The combinations of weathered raw materials, handcrafted everything, and bold colors and textures still inspire many of my designs. Stories are everywhere. In fact, one of them is story I tell as a pivotal moment in my early twenty-something life that rocked what I knew to be true about achievement, community, and self-sufficiency. Read it below amid a peppering of our Cinco de Mayo lunch table setting. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I spent a quarter of my last year in college in Cuernavaca to assist our architecture department in building a kitchen for an elementary school in an ‘underprivileged’ community outside of town. As we worked with and spent time in the homes of this community, it became obvious that this town was rich in ways that were unfamiliar to me.

My American upbringing and education seemed to be one giant helping of the following message repeated over and over in different ways:

You are here to express yourself as a unique individual.

You are special and above average.

You can be anything you want.

You can and should achieve as much success as possible.

In this community, we are irritated with stagnant growth, frustrated that we are not receiving the support or resources we need due to our circumstances, or the government. Frustrated that we are not recognized for our obvious above average-ness. This community can be lonely and endlessly interested in what happens next. We are obsessed with our wins and others failures.

Contrast this with what I perceive as the Mexican message to their kids:

You are an important and useful member of this community.

You are, and always will be a loved and involved member of this family.

You can and should learn lots of varied things that will bring you joy, and support your family and community.

In this community, the people make and do the things that their community needs. If there’s a gap, they fill it. For the most part, they don’t rely on anyone outside of their own community. This community is vibrant, connected, and really, really happy because their measure of success can be achieved now and for the rest of their lives.

One message prizes individuality, connects happiness with future success, and assumes that if you haven’t achieved what you want, you are not doing it right. The other message prizes connections and supports the idea that things are great now, if things get bad, we can figure it out together, and please pass the mole.

So, every Mexican celebration, I give thanks to one of the happiest, supportive, and inventive communities I know. Whenever I get frantic in pursuit of a dream, I am reminded that things are pretty great now. Ultimately, there is no need to push. There are people to be loved, and connections to be made and cherished, for a life of daily success. This week, success included lunch on my sister’s patio with some old and bold table decor.

Have you had mind altering experience with a different culture? Share it in the comments! And be sure to join OUR community by signing up in the side bar.

Chiquita, David & Purple Poufs.

Today is Wedding Expo Day.

The theme of this expo? poufs. I adore them. The kind hanging on your snow hat, pom-pom trim hanging off your obnoxious, over-the-top mexican poncho, the kind made by nature, the kind made by martha stewart..

And what better way to celebrate both with a look back at one of my favorite weddings. We used a local, organic flower from marigold and mint (well, many) but the one bringing me pouf love is the heirloom mum.

Mums get such a bad name but this one is delicate, full, and wonderful.

The mum is the light purple pouf.

Oh, they make me crazy with joy they are so fluffy.

And here is the lovely couple. And when I say lovely, I mean kind and thoughtful with contagious optimism and energy. This photo is courtesy of Yuen Lui at the Roosevelt Studio.

The bridesmaids bouquets and ceremony flowers were to by lively, bright, and happy. More than half of the flowers were locally sourced and organic.